Humble Monthly Gets Better

Last month I wrote about my experience with Humble Monthly – Humble Bundle’s Lootcrate-like monthly subscription service that offers gamers a randomized goodie bag of PC games on the first Friday of each month. I wasn’t happy with the result, which felt incredibly lackluster compared to Humble Bundle’s usual offerings. However the charity-focused gaming bundle distribution site came out swinging with its second Humble Monthly package.

Subscribers of Humble Monthly received much better games this month, including:

Payday 2

Rust

Banished

Chroma Squad

Neon Struct

Company of Heroes 2

The overall current Steam value of the package was more, at $128 compared to last month’s total of $104, which is especially substantial seeing as how my concerns of the following month including one less game were validated.

Humble Monthly did exactly what I predicted it would by only giving reoccurring subscribers 6 games instead of 7, making the service perpetually more appealing for first time subscribers and giving people no real incentive to maintain a constant subscription. But the service outdid itself with this month’s game selections, offering more well-known critically acclaimed titles with wider overall appeal.

The standout in December’s package is Rust. It’s an incredibly popular title in Early Access that a lot of people have probably had their eye on but refrained for picking up due to the Early Access stigma. Banished is another popular game many consumers have likely viewed from a distance, wanting to try the title but not wanting to pay its $19.99 price tag.

The package is then rounded out by two widely unknown but accomplished independent titles that came out earlier this year, and two massively popular titles that gamers have probably at least heard of even if they’ve never played them.

My Overall Verdict Still Stands

I initially regretted not renewing my subscription when the titles were released, but then I turned to third party sites to pick up the keys I really wanted and wasn’t disappointed. The supersaturation of the market plummeted the prices just like it had in November. I got Payday 2 and Chroma Squad for $2 each while snagging Banished for $1, which were the only three games I really wanted – effectively spending $5 instead of $12, and even then I was able to use credit from the keys I sold last month to avoid spending actual cash.

Rust was the main outlier. Its third party price barely fell under $10 even after the oversaturation. Early Access games are perfect targets for the service. Their demand tends to be pretty high without subsequent consumption because many people wait to see if these games ever come to fruition and deliver on their promises.

Regularly handing out popular Early Access titles like Rust could give Humble Monthly the value boost it needs to become relevant to a wider audience of gamers, but I’d still caution against the service unless you just wish to bolster your gaming collection and have additional funds to spare on a $12/month subscription.